Weston, Nova Scotia resident Lillian Marie (Bickers) Skinner passed away peacefully on February 21, 2026, and her family is spreading the sad news. in the age of 94, she lived out her last days in Kentville’s Evergreen Home for Special Care.
Marie was born Lillian Marie Bickers on February 14, 1932, in Providence, Rhode Island, to parents James William Bickers and Hazel May (Holmes) Bickers. When she was just two years old, her family moved to Nova Scotia. They first settled in Truro before making their home in Bible Hill, where Marie grew up surrounded by close family ties and strong community values that shaped the rest of her life.
As a young woman, Marie showed a real talent with numbers and decided to build on that skill. She attended night classes at Success Business College to study bookkeeping. She started her working life in a factory job at Stanfield’s Ltd in Truro, where she spent 13 dedicated years. Over time, her hard work and ability helped her move into a more skilled office position at the company. She approached every task with care, reliability, and a quiet determination to do her best.
On October 28, 1961, Marie married John Melville Skinner of Weston. Together they built a loving, steady home filled with warmth, mutual respect, and simple happiness. Marie brought the same thoughtful effort she showed at work into her family life. She became the heart of her household—always ready with practical advice, gentle encouragement, and deep, unwavering love for her husband, children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
Marie lived a life marked by grace, humility, and a genuine appreciation for the people and small pleasures around her. She found great joy in being a wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. Her home felt like a safe, welcoming place where family and friends could gather to share stories, enjoy meals together, laugh, and feel truly cared for. She listened attentively, offered kind support without ever seeking attention, and lived by a strong sense of doing what was right.
The East Coast Memorial, located at 34 Coldbrook Village Park Dr. in Coldbrook, Nova Scotia, will host a celebration of Marie’s long and lovely life on Wednesday, February 25, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. There will be a brief reception for attendees immediately following the ceremony. There will thereafter be a private family funeral at Berwick Cemetery.
Family members, longtime friends, former coworkers from Stanfield’s, neighbors, and anyone from the community who knew and cherished Marie are warmly invited to join in remembering her warmth, her resilience, and the steady love she gave so freely. These moments together will provide a chance to share stories, offer comfort to one another, and honour a woman whose life touched so many in meaningful, lasting ways.